The search for Bokgabo Poo took a frightening turn when a man was arrested in connection with her disappearance.
UPDATE: Ntokozo Zikhali was identified as the man responsible for the kidnapping and brutal death of Bokgabo Poo, whose mutilated remains were discovered by police days into the search for the toddler. Read about the shocking details of Zikhali’s first court appearance right here.
Bokgabo Poo: What we know about the suspect
As reported by News24, a concerted effort between Gauteng police and the community yielded positive results when, on Friday morning, a man believed to be involved in the disappearance of the four-year-old girl was tracked down to a residence in Boksburg North and taken in for questioning.
It’s believed the man was still in police custody when this article was published.
At the top of the police’s list of priorities is increasing efforts to find Poo, who was last seen playing with a friend in Masoleng Park, Watteville, at approximately 16:00 on Monday, 10 October 2022.
Details around the identity of the person of interest in Poo’s disappearance have yet to surface, albeit, CCTV footage captured the man currently in police custody within the vicinity of the toddler who, in the video, was seen approaching a nearby tuck shop.
Days into the search, with the entire Watteville community actively tracing information on Poo’s whereabouts, Gauteng police struck a hot lead when the man pictured in the surveillance footage that went viral on social media was tracked down to a property in Dalpark, Extension 9.
Further information from the man’s sister led police to a residence in Tamboville, where a woman initially identified as the man’s girlfriend was questioned. While she did confirm their acquaintance, the woman categorically denied they were romantically involved.
She also knew nothing of the man’s whereabouts; for a moment, it seemed Gauteng police had hit a dead-end. However, according to spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Mavela Masondo, their luck quickly changed when “a member of the community saw the suspect in Boksburg North and called the police, who responded swiftly and arrested the suspect.”
The suspect, whose identity will be formally unveiled once a criminal charge has been registered, did not resist arrest.
What’s the latest on the search for Bokgabo?
Gauteng police are in a race against time to track down the four-year-old, with every second that ticks by adding to increasing tensions in Watteville.
So far, police do not have enough to register criminal charges against the man held in custody. However, in a statement quoted by News24, Brakpan community policing leader Jessy Naicker confirmed that a sock and a pair of jeans, believed to have been worn by the man on the day of Poo’s disappearance, were found in a dustbin near his sister’s home in Dalpark.
These items were taken in for forensic testing.
Moreover, it’s believed authorities are hard at work to confirm the identity of a child’s mutilated body that was found in Watteville around the time of Poo’s disappearance.
This is a developing story.